Recommendations needed re BiPap Equipment

I had my titration study done last week and will be put on a Bi Pap. Looking for recommendations on equipment. I would like something that I can get and see data that is user friendly but not sure what to ask for. Also, does equipment come with humidifier or is that something you have to ask for? I should be hearing from the company early next week about the order so any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks, Barbara

bwak wrote:I had my titration study done last week and will be put on a Bi Pap. Looking for recommendations on equipment. I would like something that I can get and see data that is user friendly but not sure what to ask for. Also, does equipment come with humidifier or is that something you have to ask for? I should be hearing from the company early next week about the order so any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks, Barbara

Personally, after doing the research you need to do and making some decisions, I'd contact the DME and start ASKING questions rather than just assuming that they'll order what you want AFTER they contact you. Before you talk to the DME at all, you should find a post by a user named Janknitz. She has links in her signature to her blog and there's some VERY IMPORTANT and VERY USEFUL information about what you need to know about DMEs before you start talking to them. Read that info now and start acting on it. It will save you hours (if not days, weeks, and months) of possible grief down the line.

Also contact your insurance company NOW and find out exactly what your durable medical equipment benefits are: Both how much their share of the bill is and how often they will pay (their share) for the consumable supplies---the things that wear out like mask cushions, pillows, headgear, filters, hoses, and humidifier tanks. You may be in for a not very pleasant surprise: My otherwise excellent insurance company only pays 50% of all my xPAP related expenses AND they have a very drawn out replacement schedule for most of the consumable supplies. And getting this information out of them has been like squeezing blood from a turnip.

As for recommendations: The two main bi-level PAP machines that get talked about around here are the PR System One BiPAP Auto and the Resmed VPAP Auto. Resmed has JUST this month released a VPAP Auto based on their state-of-the-art S9 platform to replace the VPAP Auto 25 that was based on the S8 platform. On the PR side, there is also a PR System One BiPAP Pro which is fully featured except that it cannot run in Auto mode.

Which should you get? Well that depends. Most folks who've never used an xPAP will likely adjust to either machine. But they may not "feel" exactly the same to you.

Both machines are full data machines in the sense of recording full efficacy data. The S9 VPAP provides an easy user interface ON the machine's LCD that lets you check the numbers every day if you want to---as long as you look at the daily numbers before NOON your time. The System One's LCD data is extremely limited---to the point of being almost useless. But you can legally buy the patient software called Encore Viewer (from our host CPAP.com among other places) to download the data whenever you want to in order to see what's going on. If you want more detailed data (such as when the events occur each night, you'll have to find and download the ResScan software, which is not supposed to be sold to patients. However, the ResScan software is readily available for downloads and you can find a link to it by searching for posts by a user named Uncle_Bob.

Because the S9 VPAP is so new (Resmed announced its release on April 11, 2011 I believe), there's a chance that the DME will try to convince you to just let them set you up with an S8 VPAP. While the S8 VPAP is a good machine, it's important to realize that it uses a proprietary data card and card reader and these cards and card readers a nearly impossible to locate here in the US and your DME will NOT help you find/order one. The System One and the S9 VPAP both use standard SD cards for recording the data and any SD card reader will work for downloading the data into the appropriate software package.

The "exhalation relief" algorithms do differ between the Resprionics machines (some version of EPR) and the PR machines (some version of Flex). I think many (most?) people really can't tell much difference between the two or like the one on their first machine "just fine" having nothing to compare it too. A few folks can tell the difference and may have a strong preference for one or the other system. But exhalation relief is a "comfort" feature and if you don't like it, you can always turn it OFF.

Both the S9 VPAP and the System One BiPAP will have a ramp feature. On the S9, the user menu allows you to control the length of time the ramp is on (and turn it off completely), but doesn't allow you to change the starting ramp pressure. On the System One, the user menu allows you to change the starting pressure, but doesn't let you change the length of time or turn the ramp off completely. A properly designed ramp feature would, of course, allow the user to do both things. So in either machine, it's worth downloading the clinical menu if for no other reason than to have full control over the ramp feature.

You specifically asked about the heated humidifier. If your prescription does NOT include the words "heated humidifier" in it, assume the DME will tell you that YOU (not your insurance company) will have to pay for the entire heated humidifier.

Robysue, Thank you so much for the detailed information - I really appreciate it and will start my research now. Again, Thanks, Barbara